Jessica Porter testifies about her brother D.J. and father David West Sr. during during their murder trial. / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds
This was updated at 8:21 a.m. on Tuesday December 13, 2011
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The prosecution painted with broad strokes a picture of John A. Booth Jr. working as a “collector” of money for Robbie Russell in the local drug world.
Testimony in today’s proceedings in Booth’s triple murder trial in Chehalis included some who described Booth as a quiet, but large, guy who accompanied Robbie Russell when Russell was shaking people down for cash, although one older gentleman who took the witness stand said the former Onalaskan came across as a “nice kid” and a bragger.
Booth, 32, is charged with attempted extortion as well as murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the August 21, 2010 fatal shootings in the Salkum-Onalaska area.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office argued in opening statements the deaths involved getting rid of witnesses after gunfire erupted when David West Sr. brought out a shotgun to chase off Booth and his former cell mate Ryan McCarthy who had showed up at his home to “tax” him.
When it was over, West Sr.’s unfired shotgun lay beside his body, and 16-year-old David West Jr. and a friend Tony Williams were dead as well. West Sr.’s longtime girlfriend Denise Salts survived a gunshot.
Booth’s trial in Lewis County Superior Court is in its second week.
Russell, 48, has never been charged in the case.
Last December, when Russell was sent to prison for six years for unrelated crimes, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said Russell was still a “person of interest” and they’d looked into links, but he didn’t have any evidence Russell was involved in the slayings.
Raymond Haskins, who lives in Yelm, testified today that in February 2010, Russell brought Booth with him when he came to talk to him about $2,100 Haskins owed Russell for the purchase of some methamphetamine.
Were you intimidated? Deputy Prosecutor Meagher asked.
“He introduced himself, we shook hands,” Haskins said. “He’s a pretty big guy. Anything I would have thought after that would be an assumption.”
Haskins spoke of a later debt to Russell of $20,000 and a visit to his house by Booth on August 10, 2010, he said was brokered by McCarthy.
Haskins said he invited them, as he figured Booth, who he referred to as “Six”, would most likely being trying to collect.
He was more concerned about Booth coming over than Russell, he said, because “he’s … uh, a bigger guy.”
Russell had been arrested in April for possession of stolen property – belonging to Haskin’s father – and Russell blamed him for his arrest, Haskins testified.
“Robbie had determined I was responsible for his bail, and other charges I would owe,” Haskins said.
Haskins testified he wanted to give his side of the story to Booth, who would relay it to Russell.
The agreement, arranged ahead of of the visit, was, on that day, “no action would be taken,” he said.
However, during that visit, no threats were made, Haskins agreed when queried by Booth’s lawyer.
Another witness who took the stand today spoke of a time that summer when Booth approached him telling him “basically my son owed him money and said I could pay it if I wanted.”
Linn Perry relayed that Booth bragged about why he had the nickname “Six”, saying he’d been shot six times and once shot a guy for $5.
Perry said he didn’t take it as a real threat, although he showed Booth his knife and threatened him to stay away from his son.
“He seemed like a nice kid and everybody always has a rough front to them,” Perry said. “That’s all I really thought.”
Deputy Prosecutor Meagher also called a witness who said she hung out with McCarthy and Booth in Onalaska about a week before the shootings.
They met while traveling down Interstate 5 from Olympia, conversing through open car windows on a hot summer day, La Shawna Wolfe said.
Wolfe, 32, said she is from Onalaska.
Wolfe got in their car and they stopped at Brenda’s Market and then spent some time at the All-in Tavern in Onalaska, she testified.
They said they had 9 to 5 jobs but were down her on their “other job,” Wolfe said.
“Did they say they were taxing people that evening?” Meagher asked.
“They were on business, yeah,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe testified she opened the glove box and saw a silver pistol.
The three of them drove to West Sr.’s home off Gore Road and she sat with McCarthy while Booth went inside, she said.
“They were talking about this gentleman owning a Harley and not all the debt being satisfied,” she said.
Another witness was Robert Downing, who said he’d known West Sr. for some 30 years.
Downing said he met with West Sr. at the Wings Way home on Aug. 20, 2010 at around 8:30 p.m.
He testified West Sr. needed money ‘really bad” and offered to sell for $1,000 a boat he’d purchased two months earlier for $6,500.
“I told him if he needed to do it, I’d go ahead and do it,” Downing said.
Downing said he left the house around 10:30 p.m. or 11 o’clock, some 15 minutes or so after John Lindberg arrived.
Twenty-three-year-old Jessica Porter was among the last of the witnesses to take the stand on Monday.
David “D.J.” West Jr. was her brother and West Sr. was her father.
Porter, her two young children and her boyfriend Shane Reynolds were visiting the Wings Way residence from their home in Klickitat County on August 8 of last year when Robbie Russell, Booth and McCarthy showed up at her dad’s house, she testified.
The family had just returned from boating; it was only the second day of the visit, she said.
Booth sat on the couch, asked DJ about her children, she said.
Reynolds testified as well. He said West Sr. and Russell went into the bedroom used as an office for about a half an hour.
Then Russell came out winked at Booth, and Booth jumped up and followed him out, he said.
When West Sr. emerged, he was scared, Reynolds said.
“I asked, ‘what’s up’?” Reynolds testified.
West Sr. said he’d given Russell $1,000, he said.
Deputy Prosecutor Meagher asked Porter how her father appeared.
“He just told us we needed to go home, he wanted us to go right then,” Porter said.
Booth is represented by Port Orchard attorney Roger Hunko. Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
John A. Booth Jr. in Lewis County Superior Court / Courtesy photo by Bradd Reynolds
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
@enraged… the two families you speak so highly of should have never been allowed to walk the streets… they were selling drugs to family and friends alike and destroying all the lives around them… Im sure this is all a big show now that you tweekers got all that taxpayer blood money… its pretty sick that you weren’t out here making noise when they were selling drugs to your neighbors and dragging the boy down into their pit of depravity with them… now that you are a bunch of rich meth addicts you wanna scream how unfair the world has been to you, but not when your family was destroying all the lives around you… and all those lies on the stand will come to light, not that anybody will think any less of those tweekers….. its what you do… its what you are… you will always be a drug addict and may you rot in this circle of lies that you have perpetuated…..
Look into this coward of a mans eyes…I see no soul,simply heartless with no common feeling that only the human race share “sadness” absolutely no consience.Only john himself will know the fear that my family felt that night the moment he meets his creator.It took alot of courage for my cousin and other witnesses to come face to face with John Booth but they know that justice needs to be served.You Mr.Booth have left two families in total chaos,many unanswered questions,and broken hearts that will never heal.God have mercy if ever your family lose a child or even a member this way,you sir deserve nothing more than pain and misery for the rest of your unnatural life!